Page 34 of QB Keeper
I ask for their help.
“Wow,” Blaze says, blowing out a breath. I know he probably has more questions than anyone. When he found out that Mads was into BDSM, I knew I had to help him. I’ve spent a lot of time since I left Hope Harbor learning the correct way to do things. The bruises I left on Grace’s body rattled me at the time, and I put all my extra energy into making sure nothing like that would ever happen again. Deep down, I always hoped I’d find my way back to her, and I wanted to be everything she needed if she ever blessed me with a second chance. Preventing Blaze from making the same mistakes I did was honestly not even a question. “What can we do to help you get your girl back?”
I shake my head, pushing away the defeat I’m feeling after what happened earlier at the lighthouse. “Nothing yet. Right now, it’s up to me to gain her trust back. I broke us, and I can tell right now it’s not an easy fix. But I’m not going to give up. She’s technically still engaged, so the best I can hope for is friendship. Once I have that, you guys can help me show her how perfectly she’ll fit into my life.”
I know that was probably the thing that hurt Grace the most. I was an idiot when I told her I wouldn’t have room for her once I got drafted. Other than saying I didn’t love her, that was the biggest lie I told her that day. Because there hasn’t been a single win or loss that I’ve experienced where she wasn’t the first thought in my head. I wanted to share it all with her, and I made her think there wasn’t a place for her by my side. The truth is, I carried her with me through it all. Every touchdown. Every victory. Every time I looked into the camera, hoping she was watching. I haven’t done a single thing in my career without thinking of her first.
And now it’s time to show her.
TWENTY-SIX
GRACE
“Thank you,”I say to the taxi driver, closing the door and turning toward the house. It’s still light out, so I’m not expecting Cash to be home from work yet, but when I punch in the code to open the garage door, my stomach drops as both of our cars come into view. I spent the weekend at the lighthouse rehearsing this conversation over and over in my head, but now that I’m here, the nerves have kicked in.
My plan is simple. Go in there, tell him to pack his shit, and kick his ass to the curb. I got all the explanation I needed when I heard him tell whoever he was with that he loved her while he fucked her in our bed. The longer I sat with the details, the more my decision to call off the wedding and cut Cash from my life completely made sense. He not only blatantly disrespected me by bringing another woman into our home, but it obviously wasn’t just a one-time lapse of judgment since it seemed like they have deeper feelings for each other. Meanwhile, I’ve been begging for scraps of attention and supporting him through this project, not knowing that the late nights and disinterest had nothing to do with it. I just want to get this shit over with so I can move on with my life.
I walk into the house, seeing my purse and keys right where I left them when I ran out on Friday. I know he saw them. It’s been three days. I used Tanner’s old laptop he left at the lighthouse to log into my iMessage and texted my mom, Monroe, and Claire to tell her I was taking a sick day today. I was actually surprised it even worked, but I guess life figured I’d already been kicked enough, so it gave me a little break. I had several texts from Cash asking where I was, but it’s clear that he wasn’t worried enough to reach out to my family or friends to see if they had heard from me.
Because he knows he’s busted.
I’m not inside for thirty seconds before he steps into the room, plastering a saccharine smile on his face as soon as he sees me. “There you are, babe,” he says in fake relief. “I was worried sick.” He starts walking toward me, but I put my hands out in front of me, stopping his approach.
“Save it,” I say firmly. “I saw everything.”
His expression drops and his face goes completely white. “I don’t know what youthinkyou saw, but it isn’t what it looks like.”
I scoff. “So now you’re going to gaslight me into thinking I didn’t witness you fucking someone else in our bed. Who is she, Cash?” I ask. I thought I could stay calm, but now that I’m looking at him, I’m fuming.
He hangs his head, knowing he can’t talk his way out of this. It doesn’t matter either way. My mind is made up. We’re over. I just want to know if he’ll be at least a somewhat decent human being and come clean. “Sophia,” he says quietly.
“Wow,” is all I can offer. Sophia is his partner on the housing project. She’s worked for my dad for about a decade and is definitely that much older than I am. She was assigned to watch over Cash because this was his first solo project and he needed someone to show him the ropes. I guess she went above and beyond the call of duty, didn’t she?
“I’m sorry,” he offers. “I didn’t mean for it to happen. It just…did.”
I feel the blood in my body go completely cold. “I gave you everything I had,” I begin, raising my voice in anger. “I supported you even when you left me here alone all night. I bragged about all the good you were doing. I begged you to fuck me and spend time with me, but you acted like I was a burden. And you’ve been fucking someone else since you started this project?”
His eyes go wide, but he tries to recover. It’s too late, though. I already fucking saw the guilt as it passed over his face.
“Were there others?” I ask, not really wanting to know the answer. He just stands there, staring at the wall, not saying anything. “You piece of shit,” I say, shaking my head because his silence just told me everything I needed to know.
I blow past him, heading up the staircase and straight to our room. I stomp into the closet, taking the biggest suitcase we have from the shelf and returning to toss it on the bed. Opening his dresser drawer, I reach in, grabbing as many articles of clothing as I can and throwing them in.
“What are you doing, Grace?” he says, leaning against the door jamb.
“Packing your shit. We’re done. You can go stay with Sophia.” I pull my engagement ring from my finger, throwing it straight at his chest before returning to the dresser for more clothes.
“I’m not leaving,” he replies, bending down to pick up the meaningless piece of jewelry. “And if you tell your dad about any of this, we’ll both get fired and the project will be put on hold because there’s nobody else to head it up. Soph and I are the only ones who would be able to. Do you really want to be the reason all those women and children end up homeless?”
Is this motherfuckerkidding meright now?
“Are you blackmailing me?” I ask in complete disbelief. Iturn to see a smug look melt across his face as the corner of his mouth tips up in a disgusting smirk.
“That’s hardly blackmail, babe. I’m just telling you what’ll happen if you open that fat fucking mouth of yours.”
My jaw drops. Cash hasn’t been the best fiancé. He’s ignored me and made me feel like I was never a first priority, but I never thought he had it in him to cheat on me or threaten me like this. Then again, it was so easy for him to put a mask on around my family, making them think I was the center of his world. I guess it isn’t impossible that he was doing it to me all along, too.
“Whoare you?” I whisper, shaking my head.
